Case Number 00607

BAD BOYS (1995)

The Charge

Whatcha gonna do?

Opening Statement

Bad Boys was the directorial debut of Michael Bay, perhaps better
known for The Rock and Armageddon, his other two films. In this
film Bay had to learn how to make an action movie for peanuts, if 17 million
bucks can be considered elephant food. Still he was in the right place at the
right time; finding Will Smith (Independance Day, Men In Black) and
Martin Lawrence (Big Momma's House, Blue Streak) before they "took
off." This is a formulaic look at the buddy cop genre, with plenty of
gunfire, action stunts, and explosions. Being the testosterone junkie that I am,
I liked it. Columbia has re-released yet another film with a bigger, better DVD.
I like that too.

The Evidence

Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) are two vice cops in Miami
(that's never been done before...nevermind) who are on the hot seat when 100
million dollars worth of heroin they'd seized in their career bust gets stolen
from police custody. When one of their informants turns up dead, the only
witness who can tie the drug dealers to the killing and heist is Julie Mott
(Téa Leoni, Deep Impact). When she phones in willing to talk only to
the absent Mike Lowrey, Marcus has to impersonate him, leading to a comedic
subplot throughout the film as each pretends to be the other. Marcus has a wife
and kids, while Mike is the smooth playboy, so this isn't a very close fit. Now
the boys have to keep their overly audacious witness alive while tracking down
the willing-to-kill-at-a-moments-notice villains.

The buddy cop genre is based on two characters who have distinct differences
and viewpoints, bicker constantly but you know care about each other. This is
straight from the textbook, and is followed pretty well here. Smith and Lawrence
bicker constantly and sometimes you don't know if it isn't all a front for the
friendship they don't like to acknowledge. The banter flows freely and keeps the
film lively and fun while keeping the action level high. The actors set
themselves firmly into their roles and did themselves proud even when the script
(half of this was ad-libbed) wasn't worthy of the effort.

Michael Bay got his start in directing commercials and music videos, and the
style comes through here and in all of his films. Quick edits, shifts in
viewpoint are part and parcel of his work. I'm generally not a fan of this
style, and felt that Armageddon was a huge waste of $140 million. Still
this film works for me. His style works pretty well in the standard gunfight,
blow things up milieu, and keeps a frenetic pace. The result is an often funny,
high action picture without any pretense of originality or plot cohesion. I
still liked it.

Columbia had released a pretty fair transfer on a barebones disc of this
film in the early days, and has been one of the top studios in revisiting these
titles and giving us a great anamorphic transfer and quality extras the second
time around. They've improved on what was a pretty good transfer the first time;
providing a nearly flawless, vivid picture. The source print was free of nicks
or defect. Only a small amount of grain in one or two shots in an otherwise
perfect source. Colors are bright, clear, and stunning without bleeding, even in
the numerous fireball shots. Fleshtones and blacks are perfect. A tiny amount of
shimmer in one or two places keeps this from being absolutely perfect in the
digital realm. Still I'll bet you won't even find it. I was looking for such
things or they'd take away my "absurdly obsessive videophile" card.
Can't have that.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack was first rate as well, with a wide, open
front and a deep sound environment. Dynamic range was great, the sound was
crystal clear. Dialogue is firmly anchored in the center lest it be overwhelmed
by the numerous sound effects, and are therefore always intelligible. I did
notice that the soundtrack lacked quite the wall shaking bass I was expecting.
Bass response is fine, just not that "take the knick knacks off the
shelf" variety. Overall an excellent soundtrack.

No skimping on the extras with this release. First and foremost is the
commentary track by director Michael Bay. He owns up to many of the weaknesses
in the story as he describes everything that went into making the film,
including the arguments on set with the stars. There are a couple long pauses
within the track, otherwise it's very interesting. The guns and practical
effects had a large role in the picture and they do in the extras as well. A 24
minute documentary "The Boom and Bang Of Bad Boys" covers the
explosions and effects. I found it very entertaining and teaches quite a bit
about how such things are done. Following that up is the multi-angle feature
"Damage Control" as they let you examine every angle of 2000 frame per
second footage of the different guns firing into objects shown on the film. It
shows the damage a real bullet does that they have to copy (or make even more
spectacular) with effects later. An innovative feature I was glad to see. In
addition there is an isolated musical score, something Columbia does on some
discs I find an excellent addition. The only problem I had with this track was
that sometimes the volume would drop out on the score because it was lowered for
dialogue at that point in the scene. Trailers for Blue Streak, Men in
Black and of course Bad Boys, production notes, a small photo
gallery, talent files, and 3 music videos comprise the rest of the extras; a
terrific package.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Did anyone get the number of that truck? It drove through one of the holes in
the plot. If a cohesive, tightly written story line is what you find of
paramount importance, you will likely be disappointed. The story is episodic,
doesn't tie all that well together, and often is a set piece for the actors to
play in. The whole subplot of Marcus pretending to be Mike fell flat after a
couple scenes, and I begged for them to just own up to Julie who was who. I
shouldn't complain too much; without that subplot we would have just had two
guys arguing and shooting stuff.

Arguing and shooting stuff done with flair is enough to at least get some
enjoyment out of the film, and it does that. Hence my liking the film despite
its flaws. The script was originally written for white actors (can you believe
Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz?) and it took a lot of ad-libbing from the black
actors to make the dialogue sound authentic. In this regard they succeeded, at
the cost of some cohesion in the story I'm sure.

Formulaic? You bet. Formula isn't always bad if it is done well, and while
Bad Boys isn't quite Lethal Weapon it follows in its footsteps
with interesting main characters and plenty of things-go-boom stuff. And that's
exactly what the viewer is expecting.

I do have one thing to say about Michael Bay and the commentary track. He
constantly complained about "only" having 17 million dollars for this
film. Considering he's got over 140 million for Pearl Harbor and spent
the same on Yawnageddon 17 mil must sound like chicken feed. He must be
better at spending money than anyone else in Hollywood, and that's saying
something. For what it's worth, I think he made 17 million look pretty good.

Closing Statement

This release of Bad Boys gets my vote of approval for guys who like
action movies and don't mind that it isn't high drama. This disc definitely is a
keeper for those who like the film. The special features are nice enough to
almost make you want it even if you didn't like the film. If you think any
foreign film with subtitles is superior to anything done on a big budget by
Hollywood, then pass this one up.

The Verdict

Bad Boys is fined for a script lacking in polish, but acquitted for
the overall look, action, and camaraderie within. Columbia is definitely
acquitted for a fine disc I'm glad to have in my collection. Court is adjourned,
I'm going to grab a bag of popcorn and watch something get blown up. I like
that.